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Foster Care Marketing: ​There is an urgent and ongoing need for foster carers in the UK. The Fostering Network estimates a shortage of some 6,000 to 9,000 fostering families across the country. Both local-government and independent fostering agencies have seen dwindling enquiries from traditional campaign channels – regional press, bus advertising, leaflet drops – and are increasingly moving toward digital foster carer recruitment campaigns – including Google Ads, Facebook Ads, addressable (hyper-targeted) television advertising, and video marketing.

In the case of the IFAs (Independent Fostering Agencies) there is also an element of inter-agency competition, prompting fostering and adoption marketing campaigns to become increasingly sophisticated. Becoming a foster carer to a child or young person brings significant complexities and lifestyle considerations – so, potential foster families will also be influenced in their decisions by the quality of a fostering agency’s advertising, marketing, and support materials.

Norwich production company JMS Group had already produced several successful foster care advertisements for regional TV, and also video-testimonial case studies for Nexus Fostering. Impressed by the quality of work, the parent organisation of Nexus – BSN Social Care – commissioned JMS Group for an animated explainer video production, an FAQ video to guide prospective foster families through the process they might choose to embark on.

Nexus animated explainer video, part of a wider foster care marketing campaign for BSL Social Care Group.

Quite simply, everyone searching for information today expects to be able to find it available in short video form (more than 90% of people want to see more explanatory videos from brands, preferring them over text-only information). The greater the quality – and candid transparency – of explainer material at the outset of the fostering process, the sooner non-suitable enquirers remove themselves, while leaving high quality candidates better-informed to move onto the next stage.
The base animation of the explainer was tailored with different characters and branding for rollout by several agencies within the BSN Social Care group – Nexus Fostering, Olive Branch Fostering, Blue Sky Fostering, and Calon Cymru Fostering (Wales).

Nexus Fostering ‘One Day’. Using targeted AdSmart TV advertising as part of a foster care marketing campaign.

For further information about using animated explainer videos or targeted television advertising in your foster care marketing strategy contact JMS Group. JMS Group has a lengthy track record in producing fostering campaigns and case study videos for both local authority services and IFAs.

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